FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – California is targeting illegal marijuana grows on public land through Operation Forest Watch.
The months-long effort is led by U.S. Forest Service and joined by various federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies, as well as the California National Guard, to eradicate marijuana grows and remediate the environmental damage caused by such activity.
“Criminals are not tidy nor are they conscientious,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (below), who is working to bust individuals making money, growing pot and damaging the forests.
Sheriffs from the California counties involved in Operation Forest Watch also joined the announcements: Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood, Madera County Sheriff Jay Varney, Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko, Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon E. Lopey, Tehama County Sheriff Dave Hencratt, Trinity County Sheriff Bruce Haney, and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.
U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott (above )stated, “Large-scale, clandestine illegal marijuana grows pose a serious threat to our national forests and public lands. Those who plant and tend the marijuana grows leave a path of destruction: clearcutting vast amounts of timber, diverting thousands of gallons of water, and using deadly and illegal pesticides that seep into the ground and harm wildlife.”
So far, over 80 investigations have been conducted on suspected and active marijuana cultivation.
Over 118,000 pounds of infrastructure and trash and over 20,000 pounds of fertilizer, pesticides and chemicals were removed in eradication and reclamation efforts.
Numerous warrants resulted in the arrest of over 77 people and the seizure of 82 firearms, approximately 638,370 plants, and 25,334 pounds of processed marijuana and various other drugs.
“But more importantly we have reclaimed our land,” said U.S. Attorney Scott.
Night interdiction teams in the past week have also been successful in conducting traffic stops and seizing over 10,000 plants, $225,000 in cash, multiple firearms and other illegal drugs.
Much work lies ahead in order to undo the damage caused by these grows. Only 160 grow sites have been reclaimed this year, and from those sites alone over 103,603 pounds of trash were removed along with toxic and illegal pesticides and other chemicals used by the growers. There are 766 sites still left to be reclaimed from various grow sites, some of which date back to 2010.
Operation Forest Watch will end September 30, 2018.
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
